Thousands of Clare residents still claiming dole despite recent decrease

There are still thousands of people in Clare claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance, despite a decrease over the past few years. 

Clare Fianna Fáil TD Timmy Dooley recently submitted a parliamentary question asking for the number of people on the live register in the county in November of each year from 2020 to 2024.

He also asked for other details including their occupation, nationality and duration, in tabular form.

The live register series provides a monthly breakdown of the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Benefit, Jobseeker's Allowance and other registrants, as registered with the Department of Social Protection.

A response issued by Minister Hildegarde Naughton showed that in November of last year, there were 3,732 Clare residents on the register. 

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This represents a near 20 per cent decrease on the 2023 figure of 4,650. The figure was even higher the previous year, standing at 5,047 in November 2023. 

Of the 3,732 people on the register in November 2024, 2,217 had been on it for less than a year. As well as that, 2,614 were Irish nationals. 

Meanwhile, there were 1,118 non-Irish nationals on the register, representing a decrease on the 2023 figure of 1,927. 

Of these, 350 were from EU countries, 197 were from the UK and 571 were from elsewhere in the world. 

The highest number of people on the register by occupation was in the ‘craft and related’ category, followed by ‘personal and protective services’.

1,035 people on the register were listed as having no occupation. 

In her response, Minister Naughton also stated: “It should be noted that the live register is not a definitive measure of unemployment as it includes part-time workers, and seasonal and casual workers entitled to Jobseeker's Benefit or Allowance.”